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REFERENCES:
Why Study Victimology?
QUESTION TYPE:
Essay
HAS VARIABLES:
False
An Introduction to Victimology
CVIV.KARM.20.01.06 – Discuss why objectivity is critical when examining the
plight of crime victims.
47. Explain the similarities and differences between criminology and victimology. Provide three examples of each.
Similarities: Both are interested in crime, use scientific methods of inquiry, are
interdisciplinary, are interested in crime prevention/reduction, and provide insight into the
crime rate in the United States.
Differences: Criminology focuses on the offender while victimology focuses on the victim.
Victimologists are concerned with how victims are treated throughout the criminal justice
process. Criminologists are concerned with why people commit crime. Victimologists are
sometimes mocked and their work is equated with victimism—meaning biased toward
victims. Criminologists do not suffer under this bum rap. Criminology has a far longer
history than victimology, the latter only having been part of the research agenda since the
1940s. Criminologists limit their research to criminal behavior; victimologists do not agree
that their research should be limited to only crime victims. Some victimologists are
interested in war victims, political victims, victims of natural disasters, and so on.
Comparing Victimology to Criminology
CVIV.KARM.20.01.08 – Compare and contrast victimology and criminology.
48. Explain some good reasons for studying victimology, even if a student is not majoring in criminology or criminal
justice.
Studying victimology can reduce some risks for being victimized and can put concerns and
fears about potential victimization into perspective. Intellectual benefits also include
gaining insights into today’s society and everyday life, for example, tracing personal
problems to larger social problems and developing a “sociological imagination”; and
exercising a “criminological imagination” to understand historical, societal, and cultural
influences on the plights and treatment of victims and social reactions to these. Another
benefit comes from learning how to ease victims’ plights, which not only benefits the
victims but also can give the helper a sense of purpose, accomplishment, satisfaction, and
self-worth.